Good morning. My name is Laura Waxman, and I am the Communications Manager for Tri-State Transportation Campaign and a native Brooklynite. NYS Governor Kathy Hochul’s pause on congestion pricing is the wrong move for New York.

The decision to pause this crucial program sets our city back decades. It slows down progress on making our city’s air cleaner and our streets less congested. Congestion pricing was expected to reduce traffic by 17%, which would bring cleaner air to breathe and safer streets to move about. It would also mean that our city’s buses, the slowest in the country, could transport riders faster and more reliably.

The money from this plan would go towards major improvements—like adding elevators in almost all subway stations and building new train lines to make commuting easier for folks all over especially those in East Harlem and the Bronx. Plus, it will fund more reliable train service, you know like getting anywhere on time and zero-emission buses in disadvantaged communities across New York City that need these investments most.

Pausing this not only delays all the much needed benefits but also puts us behind other cities looking to reduce traffic and pollution. We need to be leaders in fighting climate change and making transportation fair for everyone, not stepping back when things get tough. That’s not in the true spirit of New York.

The MTA has everything it needs to put congestion pricing into place—the legal approval, the hardware, the federal support. We just need to decide to move forward.

So, we’re urging Governor Hochul to immediately reconsider Congestion Pricing. We can’t miss our chance to make New York a healthier, more accessible place to live. Thank you.